Means for gripping and lifting pipes and other cylindrical objects.



PATENTED MAR. 5,

No. 845,936. v A. J. EDWARDS.

MEANS FOR GRIPPING AND LIPTING PIPES AND OTHER OYLINDRIGAL OBJECTS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 29. 1906.

WITNESSES; I \NVENTQR,

ALF ED JQHN EDWARDS,

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a UNITED STATES PATEN oEEioE.

ALFRED JOHN EDWARDS, OF AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND. MEANS FOR GRIPPING ANDLIFTING PIPES AND OTHER CYLINDRICAL OBJECTS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 5, 1907.

Application filed December 29, 1906. Serial No. 349.960.

To all whom, it 7706M] concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED JOHN ED- WARDS, a subject of the King ofGreat Britain, residing at Auckland, in the Colony of New Zealand, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Means for Gripping and LiftingPipes and other Cylindrical Objects; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

This invention relatesvto means that have been designed in order toprovide for pipes and other cylindrical objects being gripped on theirinternal surface, so that they may be lifted longitudinally. Theinvention will be particularly useful in lifting the tubes used inwell-boring and other analogous operations. It has, however, beenspecially designed for use in connection with my tramway trolleypolecontroller described in the specification of United States Patent No.838,175, dated December 11, 1906, and to elevate the sleeve used withthe apparatus described therein.

The means devised consist of a number of hooked bars that are pivotallyhung upon a cross-piece in such a manner that the hooked ends of thebars face outward. T116 crosspiece is supported upon the top end of aspring surrounding a vertical rod, to the lower end of which rod aweight with a conical top surface is attached. The hooked bars andsupporting-rod are made of such a relative length that the lower ends ofthe bars will normally depend a slight distance above the cone-face ofthe weight, so that on the weight being given an upward movementindependently of the bars it will engage with their hooked ends and actas a wedge to force them out into engagement with the inside face of apipe into which the apparatus has been lowered. This engagement will beof such a nature that the pipe may then be lifted with the apparatus.

The accompanying drawing is a sectional elevation of a pipe with theapparatus shown freely suspended therein in full lines and locked to thepipe in dotted lines.

' ais the pipe.

I) is a rod suspended vertically within the pipe from a rope or the like0.

d is the weight having a cone-shaped top that is attached to the bottomof the rod 1) and the maximum diameter of which is preferably adjustedso as to lit neatly and freely Within the pipe a, and thus allow of itbeing lowered or raised therein by means of the rope c.

e is a helical spring loosely surrounding the rod 6, with its lower endresting on the top of the weight d.

f is a cross-piece through which the rod 6 is loosely threaded and whichrests upon the upper end of the spring a. To the ends of the cross'piecef are pivoted the'hooked bars g, which hang loosely downward within thepipe a and have their bottom ends formed with the outwardly-turned hooksh.

The spring a is of such a length and strength as to support thecross-piece and hooked bars at such a height that the hooks It willnormally depend a slight distance above the cone-surface of the weightd, as shown by full lines in the drawing.

The whole appliance being suspended from the rope 0 may be freely raisedand lowered within the pipe at so long as no upward jerk is given therope. To cause the apparatus to engage with the pipe, the rope c isgiven a sudden strong pull upward. This will cause the rod and weight torise independently of the cross piece and hooked bars, (the spring 6being of such a strength as to permit of it compressing between theweight and the cross-piece.) The cone-surface ofthe weight.

then engaging with the bottom ends of the hooked bars will force suchoutward into engagement with the inner surface of the pipe a, so thatupon any further upward pull upon the rope c the pipe will be raisedwith the appliance.

It will be apparent that the weight of the pipe itself will act inconjunction with the outward wedging action of the Weight upon thehooked bars to cause the hooked ends to jam more tightly upon thesurface of the pipe, thus preventing any releasing so long as a strainis kept on the rope c.

In the drawing only two hooked bars g are shown; but it will be readilyunderstood that any desired greater number of bars may be suspended fromthecross-piece in order to obtain a grip upon the pipe at other points.

What I do claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is

In means for gripping and lifting pipes and other cylindrical objects,in combination, a vertically-suspended rod, a weight with a cone-shapedtop upon the lower end of the rod, a helical spring surrounding the rodand g 845,936 resting at its lower end upon the weight, a 111 testimonywhereof I have signed this to cross-piece loosely mounted upon the rodspecification in the presence of two subscriband supported upon' theupper end of the 1 in Witnesses. I

spring, and bars pivoztlagy dependent from 1 ated this 29th day ofNovember, 1906.

the cross-piece provi e with outWardly- E a: v

turned hooks on their lower ends, and nor- ALFRED JOHN EDWARDS mallydepending a slight distance above the Witnesses cone-surface of theWeight, substantially as E. BROOKE SMITH,

specified. E. F. COURTNEY.

